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Home / Type of trip / City / How to visit Parma

How to visit Parma

August 31, 2015 by Gretta Schifano 28 Comments

Food shop, Parma. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Food shop, Parma. Copyright Gretta Schifano

How ever many times that I go to Italy there are always wonderful places to be visited for the first time. One such place is Parma, where we spent the first couple of days of our family summer holiday. Parma is in Emilia-Romagna in the North of Italy and is one of the country’s wealthiest cities. Renowned for its eponymous cheese and ham, Parma offers so much more than its delicious food alone. The composer Verdi was born there and it’s home to one of the oldest universities in the world. Its historic city centre – the cathedral was consecrated in 1106 – is fascinating to explore and is refreshingly uncrowded. We didn’t come across any other non-Italians when we were in Parma.

Getting to Parma was easy. We (my husband and I and our two kids, 12 and 16 years old) flew from London to Milan. We picked up our hire car at the airport and set off for Parma, where the Emilia-Romagna tourist board had arranged accommodation for us for two nights.

R&B Opera 11

A couple of hours later we pulled up at R&B Opera 11 – ‘R&B’ stands for ‘room and breakfast’ – in a narrow cobbled street in the old part of the city. Opera 11 is owned and run by Francesca and Roberto, a friendly local couple and is a relaxing and welcoming place to stay. While Roberto showed my husband where to park nearby, Francesca showed me and the kids around the beautifully-renovated building. The ground floor consists of a comfortable open plan kitchen, dining and living room. There’s a Nespresso machine, a water cooler and a fridge and cupboard stocked with snacks, juice and milk for guests to enjoy. Each of the three upper floors contains an en-suite bedroom: the kids stayed on the top floor, my husband and I were below them and an Italian couple were on the first floor. Each bedroom has its own air conditioning unit (thank goodness – it was roasting) and there’s wifi throughout the building. Francesca told us that she’d bring us fresh bread and pastries for breakfast each morning, which she did. The kids liked staying there and they were happy to be there by themselves when my husband and I went out to explore a couple of times. Rooms at R&B Opera 11 cost from 70 euros per night including breakfast.



R&B Opera 11 bedroom. Copyright Gretta Schifano

R&B Opera 11 bedroom. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Guided tour

After breakfast the following morning, local tour guide Cristiana Capelli came to show us around the city centre. Cristiana speaks excellent English and it was great having her to guide us. It was so hot that I don’t think that we’d have persuaded the kids to move outside without Cristiana’s presence. Traffic is controlled in the city centre and everything’s quite close together so it’s an easy city to explore on foot.

Duchess of Parma

As we walked along, Cristiana told us about Napoleon’s second wife Marie Louise, the eldest child of the Austrian Emperor. Marie Louise’s father arranged for her to marry Napoleon when she was just 18 years old, before she’d even met the Frenchman. She gave birth to Napoleon’s son in 1811. When the French empire fell and Napoleon was exiled, Marie Louise was appointed Duchess of Parma and came to live in the city. Known locally as Maria Luigia, she’s still referred to as the ‘good Duchess’ and had a huge influence on the city. The Museo Glauco Lombardi has an exhibition all about her.

Parma violets

Cristiana took us to to a small perfume shop, Parma Color Viola on Via Repubblica, which specialises in Parma violet products. This transported me back to my childhood and reminded me of my grandmother. Apparently the Duchess of Parma introduced the scent to the city when she arrived there from France. She persuaded some local monks to produce the perfume and it went on to become one of the most popular fragrances in the world. I couldn’t resist buying some Parma violet perfume in vintage glass bottles at the shop.

Parma Color Viola shop. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Parma Color Viola shop. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Palazzo di Pilotta

The Palazzo di Pilotta is a huge palace which was built in the 16th century. There are various museums in the palace, as well as the impressive Teatro Farnese which we visited. Teatro Farnese is a 3,000-seat wooden theatre dating from 1628 which was built just for nobles and was rarely used. It was extensively bombed in WWII and then restored. Cristiana told us that it can’t be used today as a theatre as it doesn’t meet fire safety standards, which is a shame.

Teatro Farnese, Parma. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Teatro Farnese, Parma. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Duomo

The highlight of the cathedral in Parma is the interior of its dome, which is full of naked angels. They were painted by the artist Correggio in the sixteenth century. The cathedral clergy at the time didn’t like the realism of the naked figures that he’d painted and refused to pay him. Correggio added drapes and clouds but the clergy still weren’t happy. So before he left, Cristiana explained, Correggio painted a naked angel with its legs akimbo which could only be seen from where the clergy sit. You can still see that angel today. Can you see it in my photo?

Naked angels in Parma Duomo by Correggio. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Naked angels in Parma Duomo by Correggio. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Baptistry

Next to the duomo is an octagonal baptistry which is built of pink marble. It was completed in 1307 and is just marvellous to see.

Parma Baptistry. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Parma Baptistry. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Where to eat in Parma

The only problem we had when eating out in Parma was in choosing where to eat – there are lots of options and we knew that everywhere would be good. On our first evening in Parma we walked to a restaurant which Francesca had recommended: Osteria dello Zingaro. I was surprised when my husband and son went for a very local dish: they ordered horse meat and said it was tasty. My daughter and I don’t eat meat so opted for a dish of various vegetable antipasti instead.

We had an excellent and cheap lunch at a place called Frank Focaccia which specialises in – you guessed it – focaccia. We went to the marvellous Gelateria Emilia a couple of times for ice-cream – the first time we went there my son said: ‘I’m in heaven’. On our second evening my husband and I went for an early evening aperitif and were offered complimentary snacks from the bar.

To help us to drink our aperitivo. Copyright Gretta Schifano

To help us to drink our aperitivo. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Later on we all we went to la Forchetta for dinner. The kids and I had home-made spaghetti with fresh tomatoes, basil and ricotta and it was delicious.

Where next

(Click on the links to read my posts about the rest of our trip). After a couple of days in Parma we set off to explore more of Emilia-Romagna. We drove to the city of Bologna, stopping on the way at a parmesan factory, then at the Ferrari Museum and then at an agriturismo for lunch. We spent few days in Bologna and while we were there we went on a day trip to Florence by train. Next stop was the Adriatic coast for a week, staying at the marvellous Hotel Tiffany.  While we were on the coast we enjoyed trying out three different water parks: Atlantica, Aquafan and Mirabilandia.

Verdict

I enjoyed visiting Parma and it was great that it was so un-touristy. I’d definitely recommend R&B Opera 11 as an excellent place to stay in the city. It was good having a tour guide to show us around.

My husband says: ‘I’ve always wanted to visit Parma because of its food and history. The tour was really interesting and the place where we stayed was very comfortable and central.’

My son says: ‘I liked it there, especially the ice-cream.’

My daughter says: ‘I liked where we stayed but it was too hot to go out.’

Disclosure: Our accommodation and tour guide in Parma were provided by the Emilia-Romagna Tourist Board for the purposes of this review. All opinions, words and images are my own.

Recommended guide books

The guide books which I used the most on this trip are the Bologna & Emilia-Romagna Footprint Focus Guide and the Lonely Planet Italy Travel Guide, which I bought from Amazon before our trip.

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Related

Categories: City, Italy, Where to stay
Tags: Emilia-Romagna, Parma

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Comments

  1. Jenny says

    April 5, 2016 at 7:18 am

    We have just stayed in opera 11 as a result of reading about it here. A lovely place- Roberto met us just as we came into Parma and guided us through the ztl( zona di traffico limitato) to get to the r and b. He gave our car registration Number to the local police so that we wouldn’t get a fine (cameras record cars entering restricted zone). Lovely friendly and helpful people and a wonderful place to stay.

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      April 5, 2016 at 1:04 pm

      I’m really pleased that you stayed at opera 11 – it’s such a great place, and Parma is beautiful.

      Reply
  2. Cathy ( MummyTravels ) says

    September 9, 2015 at 12:18 pm

    I hadn’t realised there was quite as much to do in Parma but it sounds lovely. The history is fascinating.
    Cathy ( MummyTravels ) recently posted…A day on board Royal PrincessMy Profile

    Reply
  3. North East Family Fun says

    September 9, 2015 at 8:30 am

    Looks wonderful – I much prefer places like this that are a little off the beaten track.non-touristy. I’ve never been to Italy but would love to try a slice of that pizza!!
    North East Family Fun recently posted…The GIN Bar, Crowne Plaza – The best Martini in NewcastleMy Profile

    Reply
  4. Mini Travellers says

    September 8, 2015 at 8:21 pm

    I adore the food in Itlay and your pictures have me dreaming of a visit. You look like you had a wonderful trip. I’ve been to loads of places in Italy but not Parma. One to add to the list!
    Mini Travellers recently posted…Kite Flying on West Kirby BeachMy Profile

    Reply
  5. Kate/WitWitWoo says

    September 8, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    That food! (That headboard!) It all looks wonderful. One of my most favourite holidays was in Italy (Lake Garda) so it holds a fond memory for me … Parma looks a positive delight! x

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      September 8, 2015 at 2:48 pm

      It’s a beautiful place, I’m glad that we’ve been to see it at last.

      Reply
  6. Laura says

    September 6, 2015 at 2:10 pm

    What a fun trip! I now want to visit Parma!
    Laura recently posted…Fun in the sun with KonfidenceMy Profile

    Reply
  7. Emma says

    September 6, 2015 at 8:08 am

    I’ve never though about taking my children to Palma, but I think they’d love it. The Cathedral dome looks amazing!!
    Emma recently posted…Summer snapsMy Profile

    Reply
  8. Adele @ Circus Queen says

    September 4, 2015 at 12:15 am

    What a fantastic experience! My only experience of Italy was our honeymoon (we went to Lago di Como) six years ago. I’d love to go back. Maybe this is where we should head.
    Adele @ Circus Queen recently posted…12 Caribbean picture books for young childrenMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      September 4, 2015 at 7:21 am

      There are so many lovely places to go in Italy – that’s why we go there so often!

      Reply
  9. Pinkoddy says

    September 1, 2015 at 2:09 pm

    I have always wanted to visit Italy and have to be honest and say that I did not even realise that is where Parma was! Sounds a great place and family friendly where you stayed.
    Pinkoddy recently posted…Wet Weather Entertainment ideas for kidsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      September 1, 2015 at 6:06 pm

      Well it sounds the same as Palma (Mallorca) I guess!

      Reply
  10. Sara-Jayne says

    September 1, 2015 at 10:15 am

    Oh my goodness! I would have loved to have been with you on your trip – and my mum would just be in heaven with the Parma Violets shop. So much food, culture – and beautiful architecture. I would love to photograph there. I’m glad you had a great time – especially the ice cream [so important!] Sorry your little girl thought it was too hot, my niece says the same wherever she is!

    Reply
  11. Stephen says

    September 1, 2015 at 8:53 am

    Parma has never been somewhere I have considered as a place to visit, but this post has certainly opened my eyes!
    Stephen recently posted…Jord 94A Wooden WatchMy Profile

    Reply
  12. Gemma says

    September 1, 2015 at 7:48 am

    Beautiful pictures, this place looks amazing. I’ve never been to Italy before
    Gemma recently posted…Monthly Bucket List – August and September 2015My Profile

    Reply
  13. Hannah Clementson says

    August 31, 2015 at 10:33 pm

    I missed the opportunity to go to Parma as I wasn’t close enough to London, such a shame as it looks really beautiful!
    Hannah Clementson recently posted…Butlin’s Minehead CircusMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      September 1, 2015 at 6:29 am

      It is beautiful!

      Reply
  14. Anne says

    August 31, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    Oh it sounds such a wonderful place. I’m not much of a traveller but I’d love to visit Italy and especially somewhere enriched with culture like Parma.
    Anne recently posted…Half a Century!My Profile

    Reply
  15. Laura says

    August 31, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    My mum and her partner are off there in the morning coincidentally so have just sent this post over to them so they can explore some places they may have missed!
    Laura recently posted…Top 5 Apps for Editing PhotosMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      September 1, 2015 at 6:30 am

      Lucky them! I’m sure that they’ll enjoy it there.

      Reply
  16. Kara says

    August 31, 2015 at 6:43 pm

    We are hoping to visit in October – shall bookmark this post for all your tips x
    Kara recently posted…A Stormy Beach School at Burton BradstockMy Profile

    Reply
  17. Rachel says

    August 31, 2015 at 4:29 pm

    Having read this post and seen those pictures, I am now wanting to visit Parma x
    Rachel recently posted…Chin Up Mask – The Non Surgical Face Lift!My Profile

    Reply
  18. Jen aka Muminthemadhouse says

    August 31, 2015 at 3:30 pm

    Wow, that looks amazing. Italy is one of the places we would love to go to as a family,
    Jen aka Muminthemadhouse recently posted…Their first day at schoolMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      August 31, 2015 at 4:01 pm

      It’s a very family-friendly place, I’m sure that you’d enjoy it there.

      Reply
  19. Sarah Bailey says

    August 31, 2015 at 3:04 pm

    Wow what an amazing sounding place, I would love to visit myself as well. x
    Sarah Bailey recently posted…Flowers from Debenhams: ReviewMy Profile

    Reply
  20. angela Hamilton says

    August 31, 2015 at 1:04 pm

    Wow I have always wanted to visit Parma and many other regions in Italy. There is something about Italy that appeals to me x
    angela Hamilton recently posted…A Daily BattleMy Profile

    Reply
  21. cass says

    August 31, 2015 at 10:43 am

    Oh my, the Parma Violets shop sounds amazing as I love that smell – I think I’d just stay in there all day 😉
    cass recently posted…#DealOfTheDay – Half Price Soda Streams….My Profile

    Reply

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